Chapter 82: A Clown?

The jungle near Watchtower Two.

A single distress flare shattered the tranquility of the night sky, and the Leaf Village dispatched a three-man squad to respond.

“Pakkun, can you smell anything? They should be nearby.” Kakashi watched the dark forest warily. With three of the four watchtowers already fallen, the Leaf had lost its intelligence support advantage. Most of the Byakugan users were focused on the Stone Village’s forces, so they had to proceed with extreme caution.

“Mmm… the stench of frogs… the sourness of fruit… hateful stray cats… a faint smell of blood… That’s it!” Suddenly, Pakkun sped deeper into the woods.

“I wonder who’d be out here at this hour? Why would someone come in the dead of night?” Obito yawned, worn out from days of fighting, and now dragged out for another midnight mission.

“Quit complaining. We’re down to our last tower, and Sensei is infiltrating the Stone stronghold to rescue prisoners. If anything else happens, we’ll have to rely on the Turtle Defense Line.” Kakashi quickened his pace, following Pakkun closely.

“Hurry up. Someone might be injured.” Rin Nohara moved swiftly to keep up.

“Ah! Wait for me! So many deaths lately… What if there are ghosts?!” Seeing his two teammates vanish into the gloom, Obito broke out in goosebumps.

…

It was meant to be a five-man supply escort squad, but now it resembled a scene from a terrifying execution ground.

No one was actually dead, but it made no difference—their faces were pale as paper, features twisted, bodies drenched in cold sweat, their temperatures frighteningly low.

A donkey cart, loaded with two supply crates, stood by the roadside. The lazy donkey munched contentedly on fresh flowers growing nearby.

“I can smell at least one person scared out of their wits,” Pakkun sniffed the air.

“Rin, check what’s wrong with them?” Kakashi frowned. He’d been on the battlefield since he was six but had never seen anything like this…

It was as if their souls had been sucked out by a demon…

Rin knelt and lifted the eyelid of a young Leaf genin. “Dilated pupils, weak breathing, faint heartbeat, chakra depleted… No injuries at all. It’s almost like they’re frightened?”

“Frightened?” Kakashi felt the cold wind of the night, and sensed trouble brewing.

“Rin… don’t scare me… We’re all shinobi… How could something scare us? Unless there really are… ghosts?!” Obito’s legs were trembling, his grip tight on his kunai, swallowing hard. “But don’t worry, Rin, even if it’s a ghost, I’ll protect you.”

Suddenly!

A hand clamped tightly around Obito’s ankle.

“Ahhhhh!” His scream echoed through the night, startling countless birds.

“Idiot, shut up!” Kakashi slapped Obito’s head, then crouched to inspect. “It’s a survivor… Tetsu?”

“Kakashi… it’s still here, it’s still… it hasn’t left…” Tetsu lay on the ground, terror etched across his face, his eyes darting nervously at the darkness, as if afraid something might appear.

“What happened here?” Kakashi kept his guard up.

“What is ‘it’… what is it… where?” Obito felt a chill down his spine, as if something was breathing down his neck.

“A demon… a masked clown… it appears and disappears… it devours souls… it’s still here…” Tetsu babbled, clearly shaken.

“Tetsu, don’t be afraid, we’re here. Tell me where you’re hurt,” Rin soothed him gently.

“Rin… I’m fine. Save Izumo first, save Izumo…” Tetsu’s gaze cleared a little, searching for his good friend Izumo Kamizuki.

“Izumo’s right here!” Obito, even without Sharingan, had sharp eyes and quickly found Izumo nearby.

Rin went over, knelt, and checked him. “No major injuries… just scared. Let me treat… Mm, he’s awake.”

“What could possibly frighten you all like this…” Obito still felt uneasy.

“Izumo…”

“Tetsu…”

“It’s a miracle we’re alive…”

“Love you…”

The two embraced, sobbing.

Kakashi’s trio watched the scene awkwardly, turning their heads away. The two had always been close in the academy, inseparable, but this was more than expected!

“All right, since everyone’s okay, let’s head back. It’s too unsafe here,” Kakashi said, scanning the area. He felt increasingly unsettled.

“Let’s get everyone onto the donkey cart. We’re lucky to be alive; we can’t let anyone die to wild beasts,” Rin said softly.

“Leave it to me! I don’t want to stay here another minute.” Obito began hoisting the unconscious shinobi onto the cart, one by one.

“Tetsu, you were escorting supplies?” Kakashi suddenly asked.

“Yes. The watchtower needed urgent resupply, so the base sent us with a shipment overnight.” Tetsu nodded.

“You have the mission scroll, right?” Kakashi pressed.

“Yes.” Tetsu pulled a scroll from his vest pocket and handed it to Kakashi.

Kakashi carefully unrolled it, confirmed the information, but still eyed the crates uneasily. “Scroll checks out, but I need to inspect the supplies.”

No matter what, something felt off—a clown attacking the escort team, but not killing anyone? Too strange.

In times like these, caution was essential. The supplies were bound for the watchtower; what if they contained explosives, or… the clown was hiding inside?

“Kakashi, do you have to be so paranoid?” Obito scratched his head.

“Better safe than sorry. I suspect the clown’s in the crates,” Kakashi said grimly.

“No… no way?” Obito stepped back, frightened.

“You open it.” Kakashi tossed him a long blade.

“Why me… I… alright.” Obito swallowed hard, trembling as he approached the crate.

Click… He opened the lock, slid the blade along the seam.

Creak…

Inside was a box of crossbow bolts and perfectly stacked detonation tags.

“Whew… See? The clown couldn’t possibly be inside. Kakashi, you scared me half to death.” Obito breathed a sigh of relief.

“Check the contents, idiot.” Kakashi, eyes dull with exhaustion, snapped. Leading this team was exhausting.

“Fine… Just ninja tools… Wait, what’s this?” Obito picked up a small black box, turning it over curiously.

“Surprise!!” A grotesquely grinning clown head sprang out, nearly smashing into Obito’s face.

“Ahhh!! Clown!!” Obito shrieked, tears and snot streaming, as he fled in panic. The clown head spat senbon at his rear.

“Scare Box”

“A hidden scare trap: when enemies approach, a head pops out to terrify, causing brief fear and shooting five senbon.”

Obito’s scream startled the donkey, which brayed and overturned the cart, spilling both crates.

The second crate… contained Tetsu and Izumo, bound with turtle-shell ropes!

Except… they were dressed in women’s clothing—was this the clown’s twisted sense of humor?

So… who had been the Tetsu and Izumo just now?